Am I a bit mad?

[extremepie]

Ok, I'm soooo excited to be getting another great dane in a few days, he's 11 months, black and beautiful with huge brown eyes and I fell in love the moment I saw his picture! I'm sure it's fate that we came across him as he will be a perfect fit for us (and just in time for my husband's birthday!). He's going to be a companion for our 9 month old bitch :d

My only question is, am I a bit mad for having 2? Is it much harder work having 2? Aside from food and insurance costs (which we have covered), is it that bad having 2?

Especially since one is a boy and one is a girl?

Which brings me on to another question, (sorry to sound a bit stupid!) we don't want any pups but neither of them are 'done', will he be jumping all over her the second he walks in the door? Also, if they were to have an 'encounter' would she be able to get pregnant if she isn't in season? How do I go about keeping them separate when she is in season? Will it be impossible?

Arrrrg, so many questions!

Glad to hear you are so excited about the new member of your family! As the owner of little dogs I can't imagine what it will be like having 2 huge ones!

You need to put in place now all the precautions you need to keep them separate when your girl comes into season as it could happen at any time. She probably won't be receptive until she is fertile but she may get really hacked off with the new boy bothering her. It is absolutely essential that you take very seriously your responsibility to keep her safe from an "accidental" mating at such a young age. If you can't guarantee this you really shouldn't be bringing an entire male into your home.

I think your next problem is that you are getting them as they both hit puberty, you do know that dogs can get really silly about that age? Your previously well behaved pet can go right off the rails!!! I have no experience of Great Danes (except all the mature ones we've met in the park that have been lovely) have you had experience of the breed?

I think it is going to be seriously hard work to make this work, only you know if your prepared to put that work in, good luck!

To be honest the whole boy/girl thing is the only real worry I've had about getting him.

We were putting off getting her spayed until after her first season due to the fact that every bit of research I've done says that it is important for Danes to have the right amount of hormones in their system to control their growth and that spaying too early cause cause lots of problems.

Obviously at that point there was no chance of any mating (accidental or otherwise) so it didn't really seem an issue but I am a little concerned that if the new boy is in the house with a girl in season he will try and break through the walls to get to her!

If need be we can ask someone to watch one of them until her season has passed and we are both at home all day at the moment so don't mind putting in a bit of work just trying to figure out what to expect!

I'd agree with you about not rushing to spay/castrate large breed dogs, I think you are being sensible allowing them to mature first but it does mean that you will have to be super vigilant.

How interested any dog is in mating can vary enormously between individuals so you'll have to wait and see! But remember a female in season can be just as keen as a boy so he's not the only one you need to watch!!!

I met a man in the park yesterday walking three great danes. They were lovely, a brother and sister and a half sister. Very friendly but scared the bejesus out of my lurcher.
He said the boy ate through a door to get to his sister while she was in heat though, so after getting her the 'morning after' injection they did end up getting him neutered earlier than they wanted as he was just wrecking the house.
When he came home after the op, the sister had finished her season but the half sister was just coming into heat and so was out in the kennel. Apparently the dog ( freshly neutered) tipped over the run, broke into the kennel and mated with her!
They are all spayed and neutered now...